Rangers spring training issues, Part 5: New coaches in Texas, and how they can immediately help Jeff Banister

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Texas Rangers manager Jeff Banister (28) is pictured during the Houston Astros vs. the Texas Rangers major league baseball game at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas on Wednesday, September 27, 2017. (Louis DeLuca/The Dallas Morning News)

The Rangers will head to Arizona for spring training next week with more substantive questions about the club than perhaps at any time in the last decade. They are coming off just their second losing season since 2009 and looking up at a division that includes the defending world champions for the first time in 16 years.

Each day this week, we will examine one of the questions they will attempt to answer in the six weeks leading up to the March 29 opener against the world champion Houston Astros:

No. 5: Improving lines of communication

The need for improvement isn't just visible on the field, but also in the dugout.

Rangers manager Jeff Banister, AL Manager of the Year as a rookie in 2015, is coming off his first losing season on the job. It was a trying season. Injuries, under performance, constant shuffling of roles in the bullpen, some deadline trades and an inability to stoke a hot streak all were contributors.

At times, there was grumbling - not an uncommon occurrence on losing teams - about communication. Whether accurate or simply perceived, the Rangers have attacked it as a real issue.

"Some of the things I've encouraged him to do are the more time he can free up to be with staff and with players, the better," general manager Jon Daniels said in October of Banister. "You go through all the duties a manager has on a daily basis and it's a lot. No matter what it is, he's always saying 'Put it on me.' He wants to be able to handle all the responsibility. I respect and admire it. But with all the things on a manager's plate, sometimes, you just have to prioritize where you can best spend your time and best make an impact and what can others pick up."

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Revisiting the topic at length would only cause headaches for Daniels until it plays out one way or another, so he declined to comment on the topic other than to praise where Banister's head is as the club heads towards spring training.

The Rangers, however, have acted to give Banister more tools to allow him to improve his connection with the team. In adding Don Wakamatsu to the staff, the Rangers get a former major league manager who understands all the time-consuming elements of the job. He also has a decade of experience as a major league bench coach. And while Banister can be clench-your-fist intense, Wakamatsu maintains a more low-key profile. They can also play off one another's personalities to extend the range of ways to reach players.

In addition, the Rangers have added two other bodies that can help communicate Banister's message: Assistant pitching coach Dan Warthen and advance scout Brett Hayes.

Warthen, a veteran major league pitching coach, could potentially spend more time on analytics and free up Brocail to spend more time on hands-on instruction. Hayes, a former major league catcher just off the field, can help translate those advanced analytics into the language of players.

"I try to improve every single day," Banister said. "It's never perfect and it's never-ending. That is always going to be there. I've never settled with where I am. And even if I was accomplished I wouldn't. I'm searching for improvement every day. Your quest should always be to better than the day before. The won-lost record is how we are judged, but there is improvement to be made every day."